Five Plot Devices That Hurt Your Writing

Column by Jon Gingerich January 9, 2013 12 comments
In:

Five Plot Devices That Hurt Your Writing

image/jpeg iconpopmachine.jpg

A few weeks ago, I wrote a column about some of the more predictable stories that show up in fiction workshops. This week I’d like to do something similar: I want to discuss a few popular plot devices that cause our work more harm than good.

To leave a comment Login with Facebook or create a free account.

Notes from the Drunken Editor: You Are the Joke Here

Column by Phil Jourdan January 9, 2013 8 comments
In:

Notes from the Drunken Editor: You Are the Joke Here

image/jpeg icondrunken-editor-head.jpg

Are you familiar with jokes at the expense of artists? Here's one:

Q: What is the difference between a large pizza and a writer?
A: The pizza can feed a family.

Ha! But as with any profession that's been around long enough, you don't need to look very far if you want jokes. They're often called "case studies" and they can go like this: "This person or company did this and got these results. Let's look at what happened and learn something from it."

To leave a comment Login with Facebook or create a free account.

Organic Word-Growing: Why You Should Keep the Shit in Your Writing

Column by Rob Blair Young January 8, 2013 5 comments
In:

Organic Word-Growing: Why You Should Keep the Shit in Your Writing

image/jpeg iconorganic-word-crafting.jpg

Many writers approach their text with the intent of keeping out every particle of shit. There are two drawbacks: First, this perfectionism inhibits creativity and the writing process; and second, writing that lacks the flaws naturally found in language will feel artificial. For many of us, our stories and the writing process improve when we embrace organic word-crafting, using the shit of our first draft to fertilize the drafts yet to come.

To leave a comment Login with Facebook or create a free account.

10 Questions with George Saunders

Interview by Keith Rawson January 8, 2013 5 comments
In:

10 Questions with George Saunders

image/jpeg icongeorge-saunders.jpg

I have a dubious history with the short story collections of George Saunders.

To leave a comment Login with Facebook or create a free account.

Are You Gonna Write for Money or Art?

Column by Cath Murphy January 7, 2013 19 comments
In:

Are You Gonna Write for Money or Art?

image/jpeg iconmoney-vs-art.jpg

Towards the end of 2012, Publishers Weekly named E L James as its Publishing Person of the Year. This nugget prompted a minor rant from me on the subsequent Unprintable podcast. My beef was that all James had done to earn the accolade was sell a lot of books. What about those, like Hilary Mantel, who stood out from the crowd because of the quality of their work?

To leave a comment Login with Facebook or create a free account.

Lord of the Strings: The Influence of Tolkien on Heavy Metal Music

Column by Joshua Chaplinsky January 7, 2013 5 comments
In:

Lord of the Strings: The Influence of Tolkien on Heavy Metal Music

image/jpeg iconsaruman-rocks.jpg

Why do metalheads love The Lord of the Rings so much? What is it about Tolkien's mythology that has inspired countless bands to sing about wizards and orcs and elves and hobbits? Fantasy has long been considered the literature of "nerds," and metalheads have a reputation for being antisocial-- hiding away in their hobbit holes, shunning visitors and practicing scales-- but there's got to be more to it than an overlap in the Venn diagram of geek culture.

To leave a comment Login with Facebook or create a free account.

Ask The Agent: A Look At Graphic Novel Submissions

Column by Bree Ogden January 7, 2013 2 comments
In:

Ask The Agent: A Look At Graphic Novel Submissions

image/jpeg iconask-the-agent-blue.jpg

Navigating the rough terrain of today’s publishing industry shouldn’t be a solo event. This week in Ask the Agent, I’ll explore and dissect a few of the industry’s graphic novel mysteries.

I want to talk specifically about graphic novels today. Over the past few months, I have received numerous questions regarding the submission of graphic novels to agents, so I decided to dedicate this particular Ask The Agent to some of those questions.

To leave a comment Login with Facebook or create a free account.

10 Questions with Ed Sikov... by Ed Sikov

Column by Ed Sikov January 4, 2013 2 comments
In:

10 Questions with Ed Sikov... by Ed Sikov

image/jpeg iconed-sikov-3.jpg

The Boys’ and Girls’ Little Book of Alcohol, Ed Sikov’s first work of fiction, has just been published by Vook. It’s a novella with annotated cocktail recipes, and its central character is a former film studies professor named Ed, who writes a syndicated column about cocktails. LitReactor thought it might be fun to have our intrepid columnist Ed Sikov interview Ed. Unfortunately, most of what Ed had to say was unusable; here’s what we managed to salvage.

To leave a comment Login with Facebook or create a free account.

We Survived The Apocalypse And 10 Other Reasons 2013 Is Going To Rule

Column by Meredith Borders January 4, 2013 4 comments
In:

We Survived The Apocalypse And 10 Other Reasons 2013 Is Going To Rule

image/jpeg iconbook-apocalypse.jpg

2012 has been a stressful year. With the constant fake threat of fake apocalypse fake hanging over our heads, it was a year of introspection, of looking back. Well, now is the time to look forward, and what I'm looking forward to most are books. It's 2013, it's not the end of the world as we know it and I feel fine!

To leave a comment Login with Facebook or create a free account.